Ground Sea

Ground Sea, a semi-abstract print by Allin Braund, conjures up the exhilaration and movement of the sea. He combines lively jagged angular lines and forms with blues, turquoise and greens to create an evocative marine image, as if capturing the moment that light is reflected off the surface of the sea. The effect of looking through a translucent sheet of water as it fall from the side of a boat, is particularly striking.

This print is from a series of eight lithographs known as The Sea Suite that were published by the St George’s Gallery, an established print studio in London during the 1950s and ‘60s. The original catalogue for the gallery exhibition describes how the sea was an enduring theme in Braund’s work and one that ‘… haunted him since his early days.’ Born on the North Devon coast, he had spent most of his childhood by the sea. As an adult, he was a Royal Marine in the Second World War during which he served on Royal Navy ships in Crete, [former] Ceylon and Egypt.